Arcadia Scotland
Edinburgh Happenings: September 2015
Date
September 1, 2015Art and Culture
MC Escher: Through 27 September, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 2
The Dutch artist MC Escher produced some of the most fascinating and eye-twisting images in 20th century art, informed by his profound intuitive understanding of mathematics and a razor-sharp technique.
Margaret Atwood: 24 September, Assembly Rooms, 7pm
Internationally renowned author and Booker prize-winner Margaret Atwood makes an appearance.
All My Sons: 22-26 September, King's Theatre, varied times
To celebrate the centenary of Arthur Miller’s birth, Rapture Theatre, in association with The Beacon in Greenock, present the multi-award winning American masterpiece.
ARTIST ROOMS: Roy Lichtenstein: Throughout September, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One
A three-room display of the work of Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), the man who made Ben-Day dots into his signature style. This display brings together for the first time works by the wittiest of the pop artists.
Fort Viking Festival: 12 September, Fort Community Centre
A Viking-centric day, featuring an appearance from the Glasgow Vikings, plus interactive entertainment, falconry, a hog roast, storytelling, crafts, food and more.
Hanne Darboven: Accepting Anything Among Everything: Throughout September, Talbot Rice Gallery
This is the first Scottish exhibition of the late German artist and composer whose work, consisting mostly of intricate tables of numbers and dates, is now regarded as some of the most important conceptual art of the 20th century. The collection explores the way she continually challenged how art should be made.
Jean-Etienne Liotard: Through 13 September, Royal Scottish Academy
Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702–1789) was one of those painters who stood out from the crowd. The Geneva-born artist was one of the most dazzling draughtsmen of his time, and his hyper-realistic portraits glow with the individuality of each sitter; making even the greatest of his contemporaries look conventional.
Lee Miller and Picasso: Through 6 September, National Portrait Gallery
The photographer and sometime model Lee Miller took more than 1000 photographs of Picasso, and he in turn painted her portrait six times. This show features approximately 100 of Miller's images as well as a painting and drawing by Picasso, and explores the long friendship between a great artist and an extraordinary photographer.
Music, Comedy and Dance
Ken's Ceilidh: 25 September, Lauriston Hall, 6:30pm
Ken Gourlay calls this regular evening of traditional Scottish dancing, with different ceilidh bands each night. Soft drinks are £1 and alcoholic drinks £3, and you're requested not to wear stilettos or high heels.
Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham: 26 September, The Queen's Hall, 7:30pm
Musical double act Phil and Aly bring together a plethora of musical talent and witty banter.
BBC SSO: Mahler 10: 27 September, Usher Hall, 3pm
Mahler's ultimately peaceful Symphony No 10 was left unfinished at his death, but it was completed with great sensitivity by the musicologist Deryck Cooke, who was keen that the composer's last testament not be thought to be the awesomely downbeat Symphony No 9. It's presented here with Glazunov's Violin Concerto, featuring soloist James Ehnes. And so Donald Runnicles begins his final season as the BBC SSO's Chief Conductor.
Elsa Canasta and Motion of Displacement: 29-30 September, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 7:30pm
A ballet double bill. Elsa Canasta is choreographer Javier de Frutos' Scottish Ballet premiere, set to Cole Porter's music. Motion of Displacement, choreographed by Bryan Arias, is a world premiere of incredible dance set to music by Bach and John Adams.
St Giles at 6: 6, 13 and 20 September, St Giles Cathedral, 6pm
St Giles' Cathedral's regular 6pm concerts of rush hour music are always free.
Adam Sutherland and Hamish Napier: Nae Plans: 15 September, Leith Folk Club, 7:30pm
Pianist and vocalist Hamish Napier has joined forces with fiddler Adam Sutherland for a unique album project, Nae Plans, which blends together traditional and contemporary songs.
Balerno Music Festival: 30 September, various venues and times
This community-run music festival returns with folk and classical concerts, workshops and a distinctly family-orientated feel. The 2014 festival featured performances from Balerno Theatre Company, the Pentland Singers and folk courtesy of Real Time, George Duff and Kevin Macleod.
Lectures, Sports and Local Festivals
LeithLate: Through 27 September, various venues and times
LeithLate has expanded its format for 2015 with a programme of events running over a four month period. The festival includes a whole host of arts events taking place across the Leith area. There is roughly one event taking place each month, alongside new public artworks around Leith as part of The Shutter Project on Great Junction Street and The Mural Project with Kirsty Whiten.